He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself: 22 years old and addicted to anti-diarrhea medication.

It sounded funny — he knew that. If he were using the medication for its intended purpose, one box of Imodium, which has 24 tablets, would be more than enough. But he wasn't using it to treat a bathroom problem.

He'd break the seal of the blue-and-white box and down its contents in one sitting. Minutes would pass. Then a gut-clenching constipation would set in, accompanied by a certain heaviness in his legs and an uncomfortable itch in his back.

Then, slowly, he would feel the dull, but fairly satisfying, tingling sensation he sought.

Its opioid-like properties were the reason the U.S. Food and Drug Administration categorized it as a controlled substance until 1988, putting it on par with codeine and methamphetamine.

Casual drug users who might experiment with it would be unlikely to experience any perceptible high. But to an opioid addict, the high is just strong enough, and familiar enough, to quell some withdrawal symptoms.

In drug use and treatment circles, Imodium and chemically similar anti-diarrheal medications are colloquially called the "poor man's methadone," the prescription substance used by addicts suffering through withdrawal.

Some use the pills to taper off dependency, experts say, while others may use it as a halfway measure to get high.

There are scattered reports of loperamide abuse in New Jersey – side effects of the state's well-documented heroin and prescription abuse epidemic.

Addiction to pain pills is now so widespread the U.S. Surgeon General plans to send a letter to 2.3 million doctors alerting them of his concerns.

But he longed for a high – even a mild one. Then he found a loperamide thread on an online drug message board.

He had heard about loperamide a few years before, he said, but he had never tried it. All he needed to do was find some Imodium.

It was easy: There was a store a block from his house.

He soon was tearing through boxes a day, he said, coupling it some days with alcohol and marijuana. For some months at a time, he used harder opioids in lieu of Imodium.

"I was a hardcore, in-the-dumps junkie," he said. "I didn't give a (expletive) about the social stigma of diarrhea medication. And the fact that it's a dirty, (expletive)-y high."

When he would take breaks from the loperamide, he said the physical withdrawal symptoms were more intense than he anticipated. There weren't many mental withdrawal symptoms, like with other opiates, but the physical symptoms were just as painful.

"You start sweating — and this is about 24 to 48 hours after your last dose. You start sweating, your pupils get huge - everything consistent with opiate abuse," he said. "It's just as bad as any other opiate withdrawal, even though it's not as intense as other highs."

The addiction went on for a year-and-a-half, he said. On days when he took a megadose, he'd have no bowel movement, yet also said he suffered no long-term health complications from the drug.

Using loperamide was expensive, at $12.99 for a box of 24 tablets, compared to $3 or $4 for a bag of heroin in Paterson, but it was enough to keep him satiated.

"It's a dirty, poor man's way to get by," he said. "That's really what it is. But it works."

The addiction ended abruptly when he was arrested for stealing a car and driving it to Vermont, as well as for manufacturing counterfeit concert tickets, and possessing drugs. He was sentenced to prison in 2011, according to public records, and released last August.

When loperamide is taken in its recommended dosage, it safely and effectively treats diarrhea, said Marc Boston, a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, the company that manufactures Imodium.

Loperamide binds to opioid receptors in the gut wall and increases the tone of the anal sphincter. When used in small amounts, it is impossible to get a high. In megadoses, loperamide overwhelms the blood-brain barrier, the filter that insulates the brain and spinal cord from alien material, and produces feelings that could be identified as euphoria or relief from pain.

"As with any medicine, abuse or misuse can lead to serious side effects, and consumers should always read and follow the Drug Facts label for Imodium before taking the medication. We support the FDA's effort to raise awareness among consumers and health care professionals about the safe use of loperamide and all medicines," Boston said.

There is some debate about whether all anti-diarrheal medications should be prescription grade. Currently, there are over-the-counter versions of the medication, such as Imodium A-D, and prescription-strength versions of Imodium.